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Creating a Memorable Character

Hello Folks! Today we have a post from the author S.K. Gregory as part of her Bewitching Book Tour for her new book Daemon Madness. (Which I will be posting my review of at 9am today).

So who better to bring us some thoughts on what goes into:

Creating a Memorable Character

Here’s Miss Gregory now:

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When it comes to creating a character, we all want them to be perfect. The hero of your story is going to be strong, dashing, makes good decisions, is likeable, has lots of friends and is able to defeat the bad guy without breaking a sweat.

There’s a word for that – boring.

People are not perfect, they are flawed and make terrible decisions all the time. That’s what makes them human and if you write about these perfect specimens then your reader is going to have a difficult time relating to them. And that’s what you want. You want the reader to think, oh, this character is always putting her foot in her mouth, I do that too.

Take for instance – Jane Smith. She is a model citizen, kind to animals and always knows the right thing to do. It wouldn’t be much fun to read about her, would it?

But what if, Jane, had a dark side. What if she had a secret gambling habit and was stealing from her job to pay for it, all while trying to appear to the world as a nice person? It’s more interesting already.

Obviously your main character must have some awesome ability – maybe they are good with a sword, or they are really smart, but they could also be incredibly clumsy or have a habit of saying the wrong thing.

With your character in mind, try giving them a flaw that will cause all sorts of problems. E.g. a librarian with Tourette’s syndrome. How has he or she learned to control their ability? Do they hide it from their boss?

Imagine the worst case scenario for your character and then let it happen. You would be amazed how many great stories come from that.

Even something as simple as the stubborn driver who refuses to ask for directions, finds himself lost in the middle of nowhere. How many stories start with a simple premise like that? Sure, we all find ourselves screaming ‘Don’t take that short cut,’ but if the protagonist didn’t take the short cut, then there would be no story.

If you are stuck with your current story, or want to add more drama to it, consider giving your character a flaw, but make it realistic.

They can’t just overcome it thirty pages in. If they are going to overcome this flaw, then they need to work for it and pay the price along the way.

Maybe Jane gets caught stealing, loses her job and her home. Living on the streets would be a real eye opener for her, which could lead to her asking for help with her addiction.

There are so many great ideas out there to try. Do your research first to make it believable and have fun with it.

Happy writing.

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About S.K. Gregory

S. K. Gregory is an author, blogger and journalist from Northern Ireland. She has been writing since she was seven years old and loves horror/fantasy books.

When she isn’t writing, she runs a website that provides reviews and promotion for writers.